It was a cat among the pigeons, the statement of Cardinal
J. Ratzinger from the Vatican when he repeated the Roman Catholic
Church's claim to be the "One True Church" and that
other Christian communions are not to be described as "sister
churches" for they are defective in essentials needed
in the real Church of Jesus Christ. The reaction from the
spokesmen of the Protestant churches was predictable. They
regarded the statement as a rebuff and especially for those
ecumenists who believed that such a claim would no longer
be made because of the good relationships between the Roman
Catholic Church and Protestant churches. Attempts by Roman
Catholic apologists to explain that the statement should not
be taken as being offensive were unconvincing and Roman Catholicism
was seen again to be just as unchanging and unequivocal in
its claim for the special divine relationship that it is alone.
It is never easy to defend the indefensible. The statement
was useful in that it allowed Protestants to detail the errors
of Romanism and to remind those who favoured closer links
with the Roman Catholic church that there will be no unity
in the faith while that Church makes claims that require others
to join on its terms. It has to be conversely that what Christianity
needs in Ireland is not agreement with Rome, - the differences
in fundamentals of belief and practice should prevent that,
but a closer and more meaningful relationship with the Protestant
churches where there is room for accommodation and sharing
in the common goal of bringing people to faith in Christ.
Denominational rivalries and lack of co-operation has been
a cause of weakness, ineffectiveness and waste in the work
and witness of the Protestant churches. It was interesting
that just as we heard Ratzinger we were told of the runaway
from the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. Lack of vocations
for the priesthood and religious orders were highlighted and
the church was described as losing its influence so rapidly
that people are unaffected by its advice and decisions. Christian
growth and development in Ireland are in those Protestant
churches where there is a concentration of the faith of the
Early Church and the Protestant Reformers. They provide the
evidence that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, faithfully preached
and practiced, retains the power to change people and to bring
them to faith in God. The Orange Order has brought together
members of the Protestant churches in a brotherhood which
is Christ-centred, Bible based and church orientated. The
Ratzinger statement has underlined the necessity of travelling
our way.
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